At the beginning of this year, I embarked on a journey to better understand what is keeping impact makers up at night: What is standing in their way of creating deep and meaningful impact in their community? What obstacles make their day-to-day harder than necessary? And how do they go about their work without sacrificing themselves?
This last question always gets some knowing eyebrows and a chuckle.
Yes. We all give a lot of ourselves in the name of making the world a better place.
There’s nothing wrong with following your calling with all you have.
On the contrary.
That’s the type of dedication needed to truly move the needle for (social) entrepreneurs in your community.
There is, however, a lot wrong with not getting paid enough, not getting paid on time or clients trying to haggle over price.
Egosystem over ecosystem: Wrong.
Drinking from the firehose instead of strategic development and growth: Wrong.
Not being respected or valued for the work we put forward: Wrong.
Feeling as thought there aren’t enough hours in the day to be both a strong advocate for (social) entrepreneurship and loving parent: Wrong.
Not investing in your professional growth and development: Wrong.
The list goes on. Suffice to say that this customer discovery process has been eye-opening. I’m still in awe about how many people were willing to share their experiences and concerns from South America to Europe, Australia to Canada to Africa. Thank you everyone who has participated!
If you want your voice to be part of this conversation, let me know what’s keeping you up:
There are a bunch of central themes I discovered through these conversations that I will shed light on over the course of the year:
- Stakeholder management in entrepreneurial ecosystems
- The value proposition of building and nurturing entrepreneurial ecosystems
- Fundraising and revenue models for (social) entrepreneurial support
- Rooted in Purpose: Leading with a clear vision, mission & values
- Defining success and impact of the purpose-driven impact maker
- Sharpening your focus and aligning priorities
- Sustained productivity & high quality work
- Work, life & balance: putting systems in place that work
- Nurturing the inner change maker: health, relationships, creativity
- Personal and professional development: Curating and growing your personal toolbox
What’s next
After three months of deep diving into the underbelly of our sector, I can’t wait to share with you how I plan on tackling these issues! I’ll be offering a number of training sessions to help us move out of the status quo and get in the driver seat of our careers, organizations and lives.
The first one is already live: I’ll be hosting a masterclass on Storytelling as a tool for community building on April 23 and I would love to have you join us!
My next masterclass will focus on uncovering your purpose and getting crystal clear on how to align your priorities with the impact you’re trying to create in your community and your life. Only if YOU know where you’re headed and how you want to get there can other people support you on your journey. Join us on June 2!
The website is getting a new look to help purpose-driven individuals and organizations find what they’re looking for to advance their professional expertise and lead better, more values-aligned lives. So, yay! New website!
This month, we’re taking a closer look at people who work within the capital infrastructure of our emerging purpose-economy. Head over to Social Venturers to meet them!
How you can help
If you know anyone who would benefit from learning more about how to tell their community’s story or who would love to dive deeper into their purpose and align their priorities accordingly, share with them the masterclasses schedule!
If you can’t find the help you’re looking for to allow you to create the impact you were put on this earth for, get in touch! I’m here to serve and the more I know about what’s keeping you up at night, the better I can support you! Take the survey or schedule a call with me directly!
Thanks for all that you do,
Anika